BSc International Development with Placement Year
Program Overview
This BSc International Development program combines expertise from multiple university departments, focusing on global issues and sustainable development. Students explore poverty, inequality, and environmental challenges while customizing their studies with optional modules. The program includes a placement year for practical experience, preparing graduates for careers in the international development sector and beyond.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
Do you want to make a difference and understand how people and the planet are changing? Our BSc International Development with Placement Year course is a unique degree that offers expertise from across the University; you can specialize in the key areas that match your interests and work in careers with impact on a global scale. Study at the UK’s leading university for environmental and ethical performance (the University of Reading is ranked 1st in the People and Planet University League, 2023/24). The study of international development has never been more relevant or important. Complex global problems affect all our lives, as the world experiences rapid and uneven change. More people are moving out of poverty, but inequalities are also growing. Through this course you will explore critical issues relating to poverty and unequal development, the sustainability of the planet’s resources, the politics of aid, and the future of our food systems. Optional modules from across the University allow you to tailor the course to your interests and preferred career path. You will be taught by experts from departments across the University. In addition to social scientists in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, these include experts from Geography, Economics, Politics and the Henley Business School. Many of our lecturers are members of the Global Development Division and research associates of the internationally renowned Walker Institute for Climate System Research and the Centre for Food Security. Many students are keen volunteers and take the Reading Experience and Development (RED) Award scheme. You also have the opportunity to study a language as part of your course. If you are interested in promoting causes related to international development it will definitely be worth joining the International Development society. Run by our students, it’s a place to discuss issues, watch documentaries and actually put your ideas into practise.
Outline:
Year 1
- Global Sustainability: Challenges and Prospects
- The Economic Environment
- International Development: Global and Local Issues
- Alternative Voices: Changing Perspectives of International Development
Year 2
- Research Methods for International Development
- Approaches to International Development
- Professional Practice Placement for International Development
Year 3
- Dissertation
- Power and Development
Year 4
- Consumption, Politics and Space
- Politics and International Relations of the Middle East
- International Political Economy
- War, Peace and International Ethics
- International Organisations in Global Politics
- Global Justice, Labour and Development
Careers:
This degree, and its placement year, provide an excellent starting point for a career in international development or wider opportunities. The combination of natural and social sciences, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and experience of challenges in international development is highly relevant to careers in business, charities, aid agencies, government departments, and research institutions. For those working in the international development sector it is typical to build up a portfolio of work experience and volunteering in the UK and overseas, in order to enhance your employability and career options. We therefore encourage students to engage with a range of opportunities at the University, such as the Undergraduate Research Programme scheme (UROP), student volunteering and placements.
- New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250
- New international students: £22,350
